Bleeding Love
Chapter Eleven
It had been an hour since Sesshomaru and company's arrival and the announcement of the party starting. And the entire time, Rin had been ducking her boss; attempting to prolong the inevitable ass kicking that was sure to come. She had, after all, been the one that invited Sesshomaru, his brother and their friends in the first place without permission from her oldest friend. And no matter if Kirara took full responsibility for it, she was sure she was going to get a stern talking to if nothing else. And she really didn't want to face her best friend right then.
Every time she would see her closing in on the shorter woman, Rin would turn tail and run the other way. Which is how she ended up in the predicament she was currently facing. She had seen Mai heading towards the table she had been sitting at and quickly ducked into the mansion. What she wasn't expecting was for Mai to follow her into the house and corner her in the downstairs bathroom. She had never feared for her life more than she did in that exact moment.
"Mai, I can explain," Rin said; attempting to plead her case. It really hadn't been her idea after all and she really didn't see why she should be punished for being suckered into doing something for someone else. "I told Kirara this was a bad idea but she insisted so I was pretty much forced to invite them. I was hoping you wouldn't be super angry though. Please don't hurt me."
Mai irked a brow, her arms folding across her chest; leaning against the bathroom counter. Did her best friend really think that just because some people she personally didn't invite showed up she would really harm her? "Girl have you lost your mind? I'm not going to hurt you, I don't know where you go that idea from. Am I annoyed that they're here without you guys getting my permission to invite them first? Yes I am. But am I going to physically harm you or Kirara for inviting them at all? Hell, to the no. I just came looking for you to make sure that you were okay because I noticed every time you saw me you turned white as a sheet and would scurry off so quickly before I could even ask."
"So you're not going to hurt me and Kirara for this," Rin asked, irking a brow at the brown and black haired woman who shook her head no. She sighed a breath of relief, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear and readjusting her Minnie Mouse ears on her head. They left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen where the sliding glass door led back to the party. "Great, I was afraid I wouldn't live to see my next birthday. Or the bar reopening after the renovations have been completed. But… since we're on the subject of the boys being here, if I can give my opinion?"
Again, Mai's brow irked as she folded her arms across her chest; this time leaning against the island in her kitchen. "I suppose allowing you to voice your opinion on whatever you have on your mind won't hurt. Shoot."
"I really think that you should give Kouga a chance," Rin said to which Mai shook her head. She should have known that one was coming. Ever since they had met the boys and Kouga expressed his interest in her, the girls had been on her case about giving the man a chance. And she honestly didn't plan on budging from her position on the matter, Rin could tell from this conversation. "I know you hate when we bring up the subject but I feel like you guys would make a great couple. He's a sweetheart, a total gentleman and he seems to be genuinely interested in getting to know you. Not just getting in your pants, which is not something that I can say about Miroku and his pursuit of Sango after abandoning all chances of going after you. You'd think he would learn from the sucker punch that you dealt him that asking a woman you just met to have your children isn't the best way to try and get on a woman's good side."
Mai laughed at the memory. It had been a few nights after they had initially met the group of men several months previous. Mai was working the floor as usual when her servers were getting swamped when Miroku had stopped her. He had asked her to have his children without so much as batting an eye. And in return, she socked him dead square in his jaw; effectively putting him to sleep and bruising her knuckles for a good while. She was sure that his friends had poked fun at him for quite some time after that incident. "I do remember that… but I'm not looking for a relationship, Rin. You know this. My work is far too important to me to put everything on hold for a boyfriend."
"You don't necessarily have to," Rin commented, her arms folded across her chest. "I mean, look at me. I'm the general manager of your bar and work as a waitress on the side a few days out of the week. And now I'm seeing Sesshomaru. I'm just as busy as you are and I'm still able to make time for my love life." It was then that Mai turned away, her arms folded across her own chest. Rin smiled gently, placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "I know you had a lot of bad experiences in the past with men. I was there for all of them so I know better than anyone else what you had to endure. But I'm sure that Kouga is not like those other guys. And you deserve to be happy. So, give the guy a chance, you never know. You might actually like him in the end."
Mai rolled her eyes before smiling, Rin did have a point after all. She did deserve some sort of happiness for herself, other than spending every waking moment consumed in making sure her bar ran successfully. She deserved love, love from a good man that would treat her right. "Okay fine, I'll give the guy a chance if he asks me out tonight for the hundredth time. You are right after all, not all men are the same. Some of them actually aren't half bad. Like Sesshomaru, for instance. Speaking of, I think you should get out there and save him ASAP. Looks like Chiyo is nosing about again… probably asking him about the nonexistent sex life you guys have."
"By Kami, that girl doesn't quit," Rin huffed before she made her way out of the home again, closing the sliding glass door behind her; leaving Mai on her own to think.
On one hand, maybe a few dates with Kouga wouldn't hurt. But on the other, what if he pulled the same bullshit that all her past boyfriends had because they only had one thing on their mind?
"There I go again." Mai chided herself as she shook her head. "I need to stop overthinking this and let it happen. Because like Rin said, Kouga just might not be like all those other guys."
With a shrug, the birthday girl stepped out of the home; closing the sliding glass door behind her. It was her birthday after all, and she couldn't very well be missing on her day when so many people had come out to help her celebrate. The Kouga situation would have to wait for whenever he actually decided to approach her.
…
Kouga had sat and watched as everyone mingled, laughs being shared in groups, completely alone. He wanted to approach Mai, ask her one last time to go out with him. But he was afraid of getting rejected once again. He knew about her past experiences with other men, all not the best which caused her to have trust issues. And he respected that. But he also wanted her to see that he was nothing like those other men. And if she would just give him a chance, he would prove to her that she could trust him. That she would have a happy life with him. And that he would never do anything to disrespect her like men in her past had. But alas, she would shoot him down every time he attempted. And honestly, he was ready to give up all together.
"You know, if you just sit there and stare at her all night you're never going to get anywhere with Mai," a female voice said as a chair slid across the floor. He glanced to the left to see Rin dressed as Minnie Mouse sitting next to him. "She's not going to bite you, Kouga. Just go talk to her. You'd be surprised what happens when you try."
"How can you be so sure," Kouga asked as he irked a brow. "Every time I've tried before I was shot down without her so much as batting an eye. What could possibly make this time different?"
"I think this time you might find you'll get a different result," Rin laughed to herself as she stood to leave the raven hair alone once again. "Also, our little talk we had earlier might have put things in perspective for Mai. Just try, see what happens."
Kouga thought over everything that she had said as she walked away. Could she have possibly been right? If he asked Mai out right now, would she say yes? Or would she continue to give her usual answer? He didn't know, but something in the pit of his stomach told him that he should at least give it a shot. Like Rin had said, he really wouldn't know until he tried.
He glanced up, blue eyes catching a glimpse of the bar owner making her way towards the refreshments table. Now was his chance. Standing from his chair, Kouga also made his way over; stopping at the punch bowl just as Mai arrived.
"Thirsty," the hazel eyed woman asked as she glanced up at him. Kouga couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was up close. And how amazingly her leather Catwoman costume fit, accenting her many vivacious curves deliciously. "The punch isn't spiked, I promise. We all may work in a bar, but we're not intentionally trying to get you wasted… not yet at least."
Kouga chuckled, inclining his head to agree to a drink, "I would love some, but let me do it."
She had opened her mouth to protest until he gently pried the ladle from her hand and filled two of the clear, plastic wine cups with the red beverage that filled the bowl. He handed one to her, taking the other for himself.
"I couldn't possibly ask you to pour a drink for me," Kouga murmured before taking a sip of the punch. It was delicious; more than likely homemade. "That's not how I was raised. And we're not at the bar, this is different by a long shot."
"A gentleman I see," Mai said; an arm resting under her breast, the hand resting on her other arm. She took a sip of her own drink, a smile on her red painted lips. "And here I thought chivalry was dead. Good to know there are some nice guys still out there. I thought that Rin had gotten the last one."
Kouga couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his grasp as he leaned against the refreshments table, "We're still out there. Just got to be willing to look; we're not easy to spot."
"Maybe I should keep my eyes peeled for that special one that's going to treat me better than all the rest ever have," Mai said, glancing at the tall male from the corner of her eye. "Can you perhaps point one of them in my direction? I've been looking for a good ten years now."
Kouga recognized that as the opening for him to try asking her out once more. He prayed to whatever god was out there listening to let her say yes to his request. Because if she didn't, he'd be forced to give up and move on. Something that he truly did not want to do.
"I might be able to," the blue-eyed man said smoothly; his free hand reaching into the pocket of his pants. "Are you actively looking right now?"
"Really," Mai said irking a brow. There was a hint of a smile quirking the sides of her lips. She knew what he was up to. Rin must have gotten in his ear, just like she had gotten into hers earlier that evening. "Actually, I am. I've been looking for the last ten or so years to be completely honest. Anyone you want to recommend?"
The coy smile that crossed his features said all that she needed to know as he took a step closer. His hand went to rest on her hip, leaning forward so that his lips were at her ear. "Yeah, he's standing right here."
"If I wasn't mistaken Mr. Wolfe, I'd say that you were flirting with me," Mai responded. The feel of his hand on her hip was just… right. Rin had been correct after all. And she wondered if maybe she should have given him a chance before all of this. "Be careful, that can be kind of dangerous if you don't say the right things."
"I'm willing to take the risk," Kouga murmured, his thumb sliding across the leather fabric of her costume. "So, what do you say, Mai? Will you do me the honour of allowing this gentleman to take you out on a date. If you're not satisfied with the way things go, I'll leave you alone. I'm just asking for a chance."
He could see that she was pondering the pros and cons, teeth sinking into his lower lip as he waited in anticipation. Hopefully she said yes. He really didn't want to have to give up on her. But if she kept rejecting him; if she kept shooting down his advances, he would just have to back off.
"I say, you're picking me up next Saturday at six from the bar," Mai finally answered; bringing a grin to the dark-haired males features. "Make sure you impress me. I look forward to our date, Kouga."
She pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning to walk away again to continue mingling with the rest of her guests. Kouga watched her go, the grin never leaving his features. It was about time that she agreed to go out with him. But in the meantime, he needed to get in touch with her friends to found everything that she did and didn't like. He wanted this date to be perfect. Maybe when the bar reopened on Monday, he'd slip in and talk to Rin about what he should do. But for now, he'd enjoy the party.
…
Rin grinned as she stood at Sesshomaru's side, the beer bottle she had been nursing for the last five minutes resting in her hand as she watched her best friend speaking with his. "They do make such a cute couple. And I'm sure he would be good to her. Otherwise he'll meet the crazy side of Mai no one wants to see… ever."
Sesshomaru chuckled before taking a long pull of his own beer, "I'm sure that's the last thing anyone wants to see."
"You think she's bad now," Rin said, a shiver going down her spin. "You should have seen her in her teens and early twenties. Age has mellowed that woman out drastically. Had this been ten years ago, twenty-three-year-old Mai would have probably decked one of you in the face then actually killed myself or Kirara or both. Hell, when she was sixteen she socked her brother in the nose and broke it because he called her a bitch. I don't think I had ever seen her so angry before."
"I didn't know she had a brother," the raven hair commented, a brow irked. He had done thorough research on Mai Takahashi when he was looking for a bar to frequent. And not once did it ever mention her having any siblings, or her parents for that matter. "When I researched Saint Mai's and Miss Takahashi herself, it never mentioned anything about her parents or her having siblings."
"That's… a very complicated story," Rin answered uneasily. "Her parents disowned her when she opened Saint Mai's eight years back. Her parents, brother and sister are all doctors and they wanted her to follow that path as well. But when she told them her heart lied in owning her own bar, her parents stripped her of her inheritance, wrote her out of the will and completely disowned her. She hasn't seen any of them in almost ten years."
"What a terrible way to treat your child," Sesshomaru grunted.
"She doesn't talk about it much," Rin said glancing up at him. "And she prefers that very few people know. So, try not to let on that I told you? She actually might try and kill me over that one."
Sesshomaru chuckled, leaning down to steal a kiss from the short woman. "I assure you, she won't know of my knowledge of the situation. Don't worry."
She smiled. "Thank you. Ooh, looks like Kouga finally got her to agree to go on a date with him. I guess she finally listened to me for the second time in all the years I've known her. That woman can be extremely stubborn when she wants to be."
"It's about time," Sesshomaru said; an exasperated sigh escaping his grasp as his arm wrapped around her waist. "Now he can shut up whining about her."
Rin simply laughed. It was good to finally see her best friend dating again. And she was certain that Kouga was the right guy to break this long curse of her loneliness. She hadn't been seen with a man in almost ten years after her last boyfriend completely betrayed her.
"It's about time things started turning around for you, Mai."
So, I woke up early to finish this chapter and have it posted for you all before I go to work. I'm so sorry to keep everyone waiting. And yes, I did decide to have Mai and Kouga be together just like they were in the original story. Next chapter will come soon-ish. I'm already working on it. I don't wanna keep you guys waiting forever again lol.
